A/N: Hi again to everyone still reading story is gonna pick up a more interesting pace now. It'll still be a build up, but more interesting I guess ^^; Well thanks for reading! And leave reviews so I can know if you guys like it or not
Chapter 10: Stormy Luck
Warmth built in Bubblegum's chest and something that could only be described as the wings of a butterfly brushed her cheek. In a gentle spin she was lifted, her body confusingly light and in her ear something murmured in incoherent sweetness. Unable to perceive auditory or visual meanings lucidly, but desperately longing to, she grew frustrated. This sudden change in feeling affected the once light and fuzzy atmosphere knocking it into something uncomfortable. A panicked shrinking around her wrists and mouth held her down as a screeching hiss filled her head sending her into fits. It dug deep into her ears burning like acid in her brain. She could not breathe. Trying to ball her hands to fists the princess could only weakly clench, but something pushed into her palm. It was the charm, thoughts poured into her mind as she became aware of her dreaming state. She awoke lurching her body forward and taking a large gasp, causing her to choke on thick, humid air.
The pink teens eyes were watering and her nose running by the time she had finally gotten her coughing under control. Drops of water fell between the leafless branches of the trees above lightly tapping the pink girl's shoulders and skull. A mist of grey fog rose from the grassless dirt while her surroundings appeared dark. Throwing up her arm she stared into the face of the pink wristwatch. Glob, it was only just now noon, she had fallen asleep much too early. Leaning back against the charcoal hued trunk behind her, Bubblegum gave up letting her muscles relax. She sighed wearily allowing the slight drizzle to make trails down her cheeks, masking her true emotions. Something felt unusual. She felt peculiar like she had swallowed a large lump of rock candy and it now swayed in her belly. That dream…something had been different, it had started in a way that it never had before, but now she could not remember. No matter how she concentrated and tried to lull herself back into that state, it was gone. Pulling her pink hair out of irritation, the princess drew her knees to her chest and wrapped one arm around them. Whatever it had been the sensation had been pleasant and oddly familiar, but left her dejected and combating strange moods. The rains light pattern continued on, falling past black splitting twigs in a faint fizz. Opening her clenched palm she gazed at the charms dull orange sheen in the light. The monarch was alone just as she had always wanted, but it felt just as wrong as being surrounded.
In a sphere of green light Bubblegum tripped in the darkness her foot catching on dark twisting roots spouting from the ground. Water showered down harshly from the black sky as thunder growled under the winds breath. Lets just say this was not the shower she had been coveting the night before. Hours ago she had gathered herself and prepared for travel. She had believed that the storm would dissipate by nightfall, due to the rains light descent and started her trek (mostly because she feared staying in one area for too long), but now found herself soaked to the bone and lost. She was not as panicked as she was annoyed, nothing seemed to go right for her. Her lack of fear stemmed from the fact that the storm was so awful that the chance of running into anyone, let alone fragile candy folk was slim. The hood of her pullover clung to her face as her eyes darted back and forth quickly in the bubble of lime hued light. She had no stars or moon to guide her and had stored away the book of poems and notes from the wet environment. It was too risky to take anything from her pack now that the whether had become so unruly. In her hand she securely held the gridded reading device as a source of light. She did have a flashlight somewhere in the pack, but in the heavy rain grabbed the first cylinder object she had felt. It did little to help, giving her vision of only an arms length in front of her. She had yet to escape the apparently dense wood surrounding the trading city. Why had she been so stupid? She should have sought shelter from the moment she had awaken to the storm brewing. Not sat steeping in her emotionally dramatic…silliness!
"Grod glom it." Bubblegum murmured faltering as her foot caught and her good shoe disappeared into a wide puddle.
Staring into the abyss that was the seemingly foot deep pool Bubblegum kneeled down into the sodden mud. Her knees sunk as she fished for the flat, leaning her sleeved elbow into the mud for support and positioning the light above the black water. Unable to find the shoe after at least ten minutes of a blind search Bubblegum quit, standing and nearly slipped backwards. Letting out a frustrated breath she balanced her body and frowned at her now bare foot. The flat must have sunk into the earth below like quicksand. On the brighter side at least she had not changed her clothing like she had planned or they would be covered in this brown sludge too. Having no choice she continued on with one foot shoeless and one arm completely coated in mud working her way through the thicket as the storm soothed. Truly Bubblegum wanted to exploded and break down into a lump of sorrow. She wanted to give up and go home, but knew she could not. Now she really had to stick with her plan, she could not and would not allow herself to go back to the life she had. A life that the court controlled, a life that held secrets and knowledge she did not know and a life she was not happy living. Reaching into her pocket she griped the rusted metal and took a breath. As a princess it was her right and duty to move forward with this mission.
The rain grew light once again and the princess exhaled, but the darkness remained. Reaching out the pink girl rested against a trunk of a rough bark and looked to her watch. Its thin white arms read two forty in the tinted light of her reader. Her hands trembled with hunger as she continued on. She had eaten the last hard pear, but it left her body unsatisfied. At this rate she would starve before she would reach the Ice Kingdom. The trees began to thin as a fog danced around her achy feet. As if deep below a sheet of water the moon glowed dimly through misted clouds. In a clearing ahead of her gleamed the bars of a short decomposing gate. A fence stretched from either side of the curving arch above the gate, which swung loosely on its dissolving hinges. Bubblegum ventured forward gazing onto the enclosed area of a few bare trees and upright stones. This was a cemetery. A mixture of anxiety and excitement prickled in her chest as a sticky wind blew against her face and her drenched clothes seemed to chafe against her skin. The princess hesitated for only a moment before gently pushing past the damaged gateway and entering the yard of bones. In the Candy Kingdom she was not permitted to enter the graveyard even with an escort, though she never knew why. Something about evil magic, yeah right what bull gunk. Often her inquisitive personality would lead her to its old perimeters to gaze in with interest. Until her escort would discover her and lecture her taking her away from its walls. Now though the candy teen was free to explore and collect data without interruption.
Tombstones stood cracked and rubbed bare, aged by the elements. What used to be names and dates were imperceptible to the natural eye. The princess ran her thumb across indentations in the stones unable to draw any meaning from them. The waning moon provided stronger light now, drawing long shadows from the sporadic trees bases and branches. Unsure if this seemingly forgotten gravesite was abandoned Bubblegum being cautious of the now wavering storm switched the lime light of her reader off and continued on in the dimness. Damp dead grass clung to the bottom of her bare foot making strange squishing noises with each step. Everything in her body ached and as she reached a larger headstone she settled into its shadow. Sitting against its back she set her bag between her legs and relaxed. She pulled the pink hood down from her hair allowing the sticky locks to fall down her back. Signing she listened to the winds whispers and the storms low distant rumbles. The cemetery was not scary at all. It was rather relaxing for the conditions she had managed to put herself into, her lack of sustenance and shoe that is.
A soft twang broke Bubblegum's only momentary rest causing her to jump. Her skin tingled with dark surprise as the twang fell into a strumming tune. Fearing to found the princess pressed her body hard against the stones back. The moisture of her hoodie making a sort of suction cup effect while her knees clamped tight around her bag. She was sure that the melodies source was a type of lute, but was unsure of what kind, not that it mattered. Gum balls she was extremely lucky to have sat down when she did. She needed to get out of here and fast. She would crawl from tombstone to tombstone to escape this…Distracted by the sudden sound of a feminine voice that droned into the harmony sounding gloomy and smoky, but absolutely beautiful, Bubblegum immediately forgot her need to escape. The words of the song seemed to flow into a single stream of sound making the words hard to understand. On edge still, but also exceedingly curious the pink monarch leaned closer to the stones corner attempting to hear the voice clearer. She was basically trapped so why should she not take what she could from the situation. Taking a risk the somewhat foolish princess peaked out from the stone. Overshadowed by the moons now brighter glow stood a sizable mausoleum (or what she assumed to be a mausoleum from records descriptions and pictures). Bubblegum adjusted her hand against the slippery marble base of the grave, her heart thumping rapidly in her chest. Air hitched in her throat as she watched the silhouette of a figure sway under the obscured cover of the crypt's top. The feminine voice was humming in a gloomy silent buzz before it warped to what could be described as a captivatingly lovely cry (if that is possible). It all sounded quite enchanting, but also pained like nothing she had ever heard before. The orchestras she had attended often did have some sad tunes, though mostly they were dry and kind of boring with the stuffy candy diplomats. Her ears perking she heard the disembodied words clearly,
"In a night that poured sheets of water
Like the kind I watch from our door
In the time when your actions were much better
And you were someone I really did know
But you went and took what was not yours
Revealed who you were all along
Broke me down into a million pieces
You were the one who was very wrong"
The figure emerged her feet gliding above the stone steps of the mausoleum, Bubblegum's mouth about fell wide open. This girl- This thing was floating. Gumballs, gumballs, gumballs! She was terrified, but so intrigued that she could not bring herself to pull back into the safety of the shadows. The suspended female…creature swayed to her beat, gazing into the nights clouded sky and held a large ruddy ax shaped item? Oh the princess was in deep this time. Oh gumdrops. The song continued and Bubblegum watched with fearful anticipation while unbeknownst to her, her supporting hand had begun to slide on the slick marble base.
And now I'm alone in this stormy weather
Taking apart our relationship
Knowing you were jerk undercover
And blaming myself for my stupid faith
I-"
Hand finally slipping under the pink princesses weight, she fell forward rolling out from behind the tall tomb and emitting a sharp yelp, interrupting the creatures melody. Bubblegum frozen lying on her back, as if by not moving the being could not see her and would not remember the loud cry she had just made. Several long moments passed, as the candy girl lay unmoving with her eyes shut tight.
"Yo…" the once singing voice spoke suddenly making the princess jolt, waning before beginning again, "You gonna get up brat?"
Opening her plum eyes Bubblegum was met with a pale grey face, its expression unreadable. Petrified she still did not move as the female's long dark hair practically touched the tip of her petite nose. Until the being with pointed ears spoken again breathily,
"Dude just get up. I'm not going to kill you or anything."
The pink teen stared uncertainly before sitting up and quickly rocking onto the heels of her feet to stand, nearly slipping on the slimy ground as she did. Regaining her balance she stood before the hovering female her face holding sharp features with high cheekbones and narrow vibrant green eyes. The grey skinned creatures expression faltered for shorter then the blink of an eye taking on the appearance of shocked sadness as she murmured something under her breath. Bubblegum would have missed it if not for being scared for her life.
"So who are you and why are you spying one me?" The creature spoke her hair falling like sheets of black water on either side of her cheeks and eyes scanning down the princess pausing on her feet.
"I…I'm Lolli from the Pop family and I'm visiting family in the east…mountain villages!" Bubblegum spoke her voice tasting strange in her own mouth like she had forgotten her own sound.
Gumdrops she should have said a non-candy name…but it is oblivious that she's from there. Glob she really just should have made a run for it. Pale skin catching the silver light the being analyzed the pink teen flustered face.
"Really? What brings you to the cemetery then on such a terrible night, Lolli?" The suspended woman's voice questioned putting a special emphasis on the fake name.
"Well…I believe that is non of your business." Bubblegum's voice at first came out quietly, but ended on hard notes, "Now if you don't mind I must be on my way, I'm sorry for the disturbance."
The pink princess turned her back to the other being, an unwise move provided by her frazzled mood. She was surprised at her own bold words and also a bit recklessly proud. This was not to say she was not also terrified in the same instance, her blood pumping adrenaline through her gummy body. Leaning down she stretched for the strap of her bag her hands trembling violently.
"I know who you are." The voice spoke in what could be described as a flat and all knowing tone.
The princess's blood ran ice cold.